HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
425 
The royal chair or throne, which was covered with scarlet 
cloth, richly adorned with gold lace, was placed at some 
distance from the eastern side of the platform, on ascending 
which, the queen proceeded to the royal chair, on which 
she took her seat. On her right hand sat her eldest sister, 
the mother of prince Ramboasalamarazaka; in front of the 
princess sat a major of the body-guard, holding a large silk 
umbrella over the head of the queen. On her majesty’s 
left hand stood the prince, heir-apparent; and on the 
right and left behind him, the members of the royal family 
sat on the platform. Behind these again, in the arms of 
her nurse, sat the only daughter of Radama. The wives, 
and some of the family of Radama, were also seen sitting 
among the wives of the judges below, on the north and 
south of the platform. On the east and west sides sat the 
judges, civil and military officers, and the nobles. At each 
corner of the west side of the platform, the idols, Manja- 
katsiroa and Fantaka, were held up by their respective 
keepers. The idols themselves were covered as already 
described, and the greater part of the splendid cloth of 
scarlet and gold employed for this purpose, waving in the 
breeze, and viewed by the people with a degree of super¬ 
stitious awe, added much to the impressiveness of the occa¬ 
sion and the scene. 
It is supposed that about 60,000 people were convened 
in this vast assembly; of these eight thousand were soldiers. 
Two thousand of the town-division stood in close columns 
on each side of the platform, beside those who formed the 
lines on each side of the road from the palace. A square 
was formed in front of the platform, within which the two 
bands of music were placed, and where many of the civil 
and military officers were stationed. 
After remaining a short time on the royal chair, the 
